Police step up pressure on Yossi Musli: court to hear request for restriction order

Yossi Musli will be brought to the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday, where the Tel Aviv District Central Unit will request a judicial restriction order against him. This legal tool is designed to allow police to impose restrictions on criminal elements even in cases where no indictment has been filed, and it has become an increasingly utilized instrument in the fight against organized crime over the past year.

The request regarding Musli follows a series of similar petitions filed under the Law for the Protection of the Public from Criminal Organizations. Judicial restriction orders have been issued multiple times against figures such as Issam Jarushi and Khaled Hamada, as well as Rashad and Ahmad Abu Ghanem, the Hariri brothers, and others.

The law empowers the court to impose various restrictions on individuals whom police seek to distance from criminal hubs, based on intelligence linking them to serious offenses, even when there is insufficient evidence to support a formal indictment.

Advocate Walid Kabub, a prominent criminal defense attorney who has represented high-profile figures subject to such orders, has harshly criticized the practice. "This is a dangerous law that deals a fatal blow to human rights, dignity, and liberty. It reeks of dictatorial legal systems rather than a democratic, enlightened one, and is reminiscent of dark regimes," Kabub stated.

He argued that the law is a shortcut for police who fail to gather enough evidence to secure an arrest through the standard criminal process. "Whether it is the Bar Association or the Ministry of Justice, any respected legal authority should be concerned. The police have found a magic formula to deal with criminal organizations while completely bypassing the evidentiary threshold," he added.

One of the most notable cases involved Issam Jarushi, a senior member of the Jarushi crime family. In August 2025, an order was issued forcing him to relocate to Eilat and prohibiting contact with certain individuals. In November 2025, he was convicted in a plea bargain for violating these terms—specifically for destroying his phone and contacting prohibited parties—and was sentenced to eight months in prison.

In April 2026, following his release, police sought to impose further restrictions, including bans on entering Ramle, Lod, Jerusalem, and Haifa. However, the case concluded with an unprecedented agreement: Jarushi agreed to leave Israel for two months, marking the first time authorities opted to remove a senior criminal from the country rather than monitor them locally.

With that order now expired, the legal tool is being directed at Yossi Musli. Tomorrow, investigators will present their request to the Tel Aviv District Court, which will decide what, if any, restrictions will be imposed.